The 2010 World Cup will absorb acres of newsprint, whole swathes of the internet and hours of broadcast time in the coming weeks. Ekklesia will offer an alternative perspective - looking at the social justice issues behind the sporting headlines.

Football connects people in positive ways, but also exposes the limitations and injustices of human society, says Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, reflecting on modern South Africa, the World Cup, and the challenge of global Christianity.

The Anglican Bishop of Liverpool has been appointed as the head of a panel to oversee the release of files on the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death and many more injured.

If watching football is a waste of time with redeeming moments, much the same could be said about prayer, says Simon Barrow. In a world over-attached to achievement, we lose sight of the fact that what is really 'worth it' is often not conventionally 'productive'.